Semis Slump, Apple Rebound: Can AI Rally Broaden?

Semis slump and an Apple rebound are fueling a debate over whether the S&P 500’s AI-driven rally is broadening beyond a narrow group of chip stocks. The article describes a “risk question” tied to market breadth: if leadership is concentrated in a handful of semiconductor names, drawdowns can become sharp, but if participation widens, pullbacks may look more manageable. It cites early-June moves including a drop of more than $1 trillion in U.S.-listed chipmakers’ market value in a single session and an approximately 8.5% fall in the PHLX Semiconductor Index, with Nvidia down about 6% and Micron about 11%, followed by another 7.9% decline on June 23. Apple rose about 3.1% on June 26 after raising prices on selected iPad and MacBook models due to higher memory and storage costs. By July 2, iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) was down about 5.6%, extending a two-day decline to roughly 12%.